Ticket printing and feeding machine



Dec. 10, 1968 K. J. WHITE 3,415,182

TICKET PRINTING AND FEEDING MACHINE Filed Nov. 9, 1966 4 Sheets-Sheet lw Il A; M j; J l

' TICKET PRINTING AND FEEDING MACHINE 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed NOV.

Dec. 1o, 196s K. J. WHITE 3,415,182

TICKET PRINTING AND FEEDING MACHINE Filed Nov. 9, 1966 4 Sheets-Sheet 5Dec. 10, 1968 K. J. WHITE TICKET PRINTING AND FEEDING MACHINE l--ngm 4Sheets-Sheet 4 SINGLE 7704/57' 19H zf EE] @24 PAP/NT A 6 JBL r/m M5255mill-l ABCD j, Uff [m] Ap; r/zxfrrsnv/ffffp 1I l will,

2? 23 TRAVEFSE j? STIV/P fEfD J0 wr T United States Patent O FPice 3415,182 TICKET PRINTING ND FEEDING MACHINE Kenneth J. White, Framingham,Mass., assignor to Dennison Manufacturing Company, Framingham, Mass., acorporation of Nevada Filed Nov. 9, 1966, Ser. No. 593,111 3 Claims.(Cl. 101-68) ABSTRACT F THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates toapparatus for printing price tickets or other stock, particularlyapparatus using strip stock from which tickets are cut. The apparatusmay also attach the ltickets -to articles, as for example by pinning theon fabrics as disclosed in the patent to Flood 2,023,045. The apparatusis especially useful in so-called dial-set machines of the typxe wherethe printing characters are carried by belts trained over rollers sideby side so that various combinations of printing characters may bebrought into printing position by turning dials or knobs, therebyenabling rapid changes of printing characters.

In printing price tickets it is often desirable to print lines ofindicia in addition to the prices, and it is desirable to minimize thesize of the tickets or maximize the size of the indicia. Consequently itis desirable to print the lines in close juxtaposition. While this iseasy to do with printing chases, it is has not been possible to printthe lines very close together with the `dial-set machines because thethickness of the belts and the impossibility of bending them over asmall radius prevents rows of characters from being closely spaced.

Objects of the present invention are to provide apparatus in which therows of indicia may be printed in close juxtaposition with any type ofprinting apparatus, including the aforesaid dial-set type, which issimple and economical to produce, which can ink simultaneously withprinting, and which is durable and reliable in use.

According to this invention the apparatus comprises a plurality of setsof type carriers of the kind having a column of printing charactersthereon, the type carriers on each set being adjustable to present a rowof selected characters to `a printing position, there being at leastthree such rows of characters, and means for printing in closeassociation lines of indicia corresponding to the rows of characters,said means including means for successively perfoming at least twoimpressions within the area to carry the indicia, one of the impressionsimprinting with rows for non-adjacent lines of indicia, and another ofthe impressions imprinting with a row for an intervening line ofindicia, whereby the lines are condensed from the spacing of the rows.

In a more specific aspect, the apparatus comprises a printing headcarrying the rows of printing characters, and means for relativelyshifting the printing head and the ticket stock between successiveimpressions imprinting adjacent lines of indicia.

In a still more specific aspect, the apparatus `comprises means forfeeding ticket stock, and the rows of printing characters extendtransversely to the direction of feed, rows for printing successivelines of indicia being offset transversely of the direction of feed.

In a different aspect, the apparatus comprises means for 4feeding stockalong a predetermined linear path, and means along said path forsuccessively performing at least two impressions on the stock, one ofthe impressions printing at least one line of indicia on the stock, andone other of the impressions printing at least one other line of indiciaontjthe stock in close parallel juxtaposition to said one line.

3,415,182 Patented Dec. 10, 1968 For the purpose of illustration atypical embodiment of the invention is shown in the laccompanyingdrawings in which:

FIG. l is a plan view of a single ticket produced by the invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a double ticket produced by the invention;

FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic plan view illustrating one printingimpressions;

FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic plan view illustrating a second printingimpression;

FIG. 5 is a plan View;

FIG. 6 is a section on line 6 6 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a section on line 7-7 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 8 is a section on line 8-8 of FIG. 6;

FIG. 9 is a side elevation from the left of FIG. 5;

FIG. 10 shows the relative timing of the movements of the various parts;

FIGS. 11 to 21 are diagrammatic side views showing successive steps inprinting `double tickets; and

FIGS. 22 to 30 are diagrammatic side views showing successive steps inprinting single tickets.

The particular embodiment of the invention chosen for the purpose ofillustration is adapted to print either single tickets 1 (FIG. l) ordouble tickets 2 (FIG. 2) which may be one and two inches longrespectively. Single tickets 1 have a feed opening or depression 3 and atext of four transverse lines A, B, C, D of indicia printed thereon.Double tickets 2 have a similar feed opening or depression 3', atransverse line of perforations 4 dividing the ticket into a separableupper half 5 and lower half 6, and the text of four lines A, B, C, Dprinted on each half. In the case of .price tickets the two halves aretorn apart at the time of sale, one part remaining on the article soldand the other part being retained by the vendor. The text printed on thetickets usually involves information in addition to prices, as forexample style, size, etc.

Tickets 1 and 2 may be cut by the apparatus from strips or ribbons ofpaper 7 or 7, the strips being identical except that feed openings 3 arespaced an inch apart in single ticket strip 7, while double ticket strip7' has feed openings 3 spaced two inches apart and has lines ofperforations 4 therein.

The illustrated apparatus comprises a frame 8, a magazine 9 on the framefor holding a supply of ticket stock in the form of strip 7 or 7, andstrip guides 10 and 11 through which the st-rip is fed on a linear path.Feed means including a strip feed finger 12 adapted to engage feedopenings 3 or 3'; a shield 13 over the strip which is locked in anadvanced position (FIGS. 22 to 30) by the screw 14 to prevent finger 12from advancing a long length of stock when single tickets are printed;and a ticket pusher 15 adapted to push against a cut end of a ticket;operate in timed relationship to advance ticket stock past a knife 1'6which outs strip 7 or 7' into tickets 1 or 2, and past a printing head17 which imprints the ticket s-tock with lines A, B, C, D of indicia.Cut and .printed tickets may be ejected or attached to fabric by apinning mechanism, including anvil 18, as disclosed in Patent No.2,023,045 to Flood.

Printing head 17 carries staggered rows of printing characters 19A, 19B,19C and 19D (shown diagrammatically in FIGS. 3 and 4) which correspondto lines of indicia A, B, C, D. Relative to one another, the rows arepositioned so that rows which are spaced lengthwise to print successivelines of indicia are offset transversely of the direction of ticketstock feed, while rows which print alternate lines of indicia are inalignment and adjacent one another. The printing head is moved in adirection transverse to the direction of ticket stock feed to bringsuccessive rows to printing position, and is moved up and down to printthe rows on the ticket stock. To print the lines of indicia, theprinting head successively performs at least two impressions on thestock. One of the impressions, such as is shown in FIG. 3, imprints withtwo adjacent rows 19A and 19C of printing characters to provide twononadjacent lines A and C of indicia. Another of the impressions, suchas is shown in FIG. 4, imprints with adjacent rows 19B and 19D toprovide non-adjacent lines B and D. Line B intervenes between lines Aand C, and line D is closely juxtaposed to line C, thus providing theticket stock with consecutive closely spaced lines of indicia. Becauseadjacent rows of printing characters are spaced apart to printnon-adjacent lines of indicia, printing head 17 may be of the dial-setkind, comprising7 four sets 20A, 20B, 20C and 20D of belts or carriers21 having a column of printing characters thereon in usual fashion, andtrained over upper and lower pulleys in usual fashion, the upper pulleysbeing rotatable by dials or knobs 22 to select desired characters forthe rows 19A, 19B, 19C, 19D to be imprinted. Ink pads 23 and 24 aremounted on frame 11 and are disposed beneath the printing head 17 (FIGS.3, 4 and 6) on opposite sides of the ticket stock. As the printing headmakes an impression with two rows of characters, the other two rows aresimultaneously inked for their next impression. Because pads 23 and 24are separate, it is a simple matter to provide them with differentcolors of ink so that adjacent lines of indicia will be in differentcolors.

Printing double tickets-FIGS. 1] lo 21 For use in printing doubletickets 2 having feed openings 3 spaced two inches apart, the shield 13is locked in the retracted position shown in FIGS. 11 to 21 so as to beinoperative and, by means hereinafter described, the mechanism foractuating the printing head is set to cause the head to print four timesduring each cycle. Strip feed finger 12 advances in two steps during thecycle, and ticket pusher advances in two steps during the cycle. At thebeginning of the cycle (FIG. 11) strip feed finger 12 is in a fullyretracted position, either in a feed opening 3 or just behind theopening as shown in FIG. ll so as to drop into the opening during therst advance; ticket pusher 15 is in a fully retracted position behindknife 16; printing head 17 has rows 19A and 19C in position to print; aticket 2 has been cut by knife 16; and the lower half of the ticket hasalready received lines A, B, C, D of indicia. During each cycle hesequence of operations is: advance the ticket the first step with pusher15 until the upper half is beneath the printing head (FIG. l2); printthe upper half with lines A and C (FIG. 13); traverse the printing headto bring rows 19B and 19D into printing position (FIG. 14); print theupper half with lines B and D (FIG. 15); eject the ticket with pusher 15and simultaneously advance the strip the first step with finger 12 untilthe lower half of a new ticket portion is beneath the printing head(FIG. 16); retract the pusher 15; print the lower half with lines B andD (FIG. 17); traverse the printing head to bring rows 19A and 19C intoprinting position (FIG. 18); print the lower half with lines A and C(FIG. 19); advance the strip the second step with finger 12 until thestrip is correctly positioned for cutting (FIG. 20); retract the finger12; cut the strip with knife 16 (FIG. 21); and return the parts to thepositions occupied at the beginning of the cycle (FIG. 11).

Printing single tickets-FI GS. 22 to 30 For use in printing singleticket 1 having feed openings 3 spaced one inch apart, the shield 13 islocked in the advanced position shown in FIGS. 22 to 30 to prevent thefinger 12 from advancing more than a one-inch section of ticket stockduring its first step, and the mechanism for actuating the printing headis set to cause the head to print twice during each cycle. At thebeginning of the cycle, a single ticket 1 has already been severed andthe parts are positioned as they were at the beginning of the Cil doubleticket cycle. During each cycle the sequence of operations is: advancethe ticket the first step with pusher 15 until it is beneath theprinting head (FIG. 23); print lines A and C (FIG. 24); traverse theprinting head to bring rows 19B and 19D into printing position (FIG.25); print lines B and D (FIG. 26); eject the ticket with pusher 15 andsimultaneously advance the strip the first step with finger 12 (FIG.27); retract the ticket pusher 15; traverse the printing head to bringrows 19A and 19C into printing position (FIG. 28); advance the strip thesecond step with finger 12 until the strip is correctly positioned forcutting (FIG. 29); retract the finger 12; cut the strip with knife 16(FIG. 30); and return the parts to the positions occupied at thebeginning of the cycle (FIG. 22).

The aforesaid parts are actuated in the timed relationship shown in FIG.10, wherein rises indicate advances, by cams mounted on a cam shaft 30rotated by a motor through a one-revolution clutch. Strip feed finger 12is actuated by a cam 31, contoured to advance the finger in the mannerindicated in FIG. 10, through follower 32, bell crank 33, and spring 34,the finger being pivotally secured to the bell crank 33 and held againsta stirp of ticket stock by spring 35. The finger is advanced by spring34 and retracted by cam 31. Bell crank 33 oscillates back and forth onan eccentrically mounted pin 36 (FIG. 9) with which the length of thefirst step of the finger may be adjusted accurately. By means of anadjustable stop 37 the length of the second step of the finger may beadjusted accurately.

Ticket pusher 15 is actuated by cam 41, contoured to advance the pusherin the manner indicated in FIG. 10, through follower 42, bell crank 43,and spring 44, the pusher being pivotally secured to the bell crank 43and held in engagement with a strip of ticket stock by spring 45. Thepusher is advanced by spring 44 and retracted by cam 41. By means ofscrews 46 securing portions of the pusher together (FIG. 5), the lengthof the first step of the pusher may be accurately adjusted, and by meansof an adjustable stop 47, the length of the second step of the pushermay be accurately adjusted. The printing head is actuated for up anddown or printing motion by cams 51 and 52, contoured to move theprinting head as indicated in FIG. 10, through follower 53, crank 54pivotally supported on a shaft 55, and rods 56, 57 securedv to the crankand slidably engaging the printing head in a direction perpendicular tothe printing motion. The follower 53 has a stub shaft 58 slidablymounted in a journal 59 and adjustable axially by a lever 60 pivoted at61, the lower end of the lever being forked and straddling a pin 62projecting from the stub shaft through a slot in the journal 59. Withthe lever in the clockwise position indicated in FIG. 8 the followerengages both cams 51 and 52 to make four printings per cycle as abovedescribed, and with the lever in its counterclockwise position thefollower engages only cam 51 to make two printin gs per cycle.

The printing head is actuated for side to side or traversing motion onrods 56, 57 by a carn 71, contoured to traverse the head as indicated inFIG. 10, through follower 72, bell crank 73 pivoted at 74, spring 75holding the follower in engagement with the cam, sleeve 76 pivotallysupported by the bell crank on a member 77, and a push rod 78 slidablymounted in the sleeve and pivotally secured to a stub 79 attached to theprinting head. The printing head traverses on rods 56, 57 between flangestops 80, 81 provided at the ends of the rods and bumper stop 82provided on crank 54, which stops define the traversed positions of theprinting head, shown as solid and dashed lines in FIG. 6. Motion of thepush rod 78 toward flange stops 80, 81 is imparted by bell crank 73through a spring 83 mounted on the rod between sleeve 76 and a stop 84on the rod. Cam 71 is preferably contoured so that when the printinghead is against flange stops 80, 81, the spring 83 is slightlycompressed (FIGS. 5 and 6), thereby holding the printing head in properposition during printing and eliminating effects caused by looseness orplay in the mechanism. Motion of the push rod 78 in the other direction(to the right in FIG. 6) is imparted by bell crank 73 acting againstlocknut 85 on the rod. Spring 75 pulls the bell crank in this direction,and preferably holds the printing head against bumper stop 82 duringprinting, the cam 71 being contoured to separate slightly from thefollower 72 in this situation.

The knife 16 is actuated by cam 91, contoured to advance the knife asindicated in FIG. 10, through follower 92, bell crank 93 pivotallySupported on shaft 55, and spring 94 holding the follower in engagementwith the cam, the knife being secured to the bell crank (FIG. 7).

It should be understood that the present disclosure is for the purposeof illustration only and that this invention includes all modificationsand equivalents which fall within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for printing ticket stock comprising a plurality of sets oftype carriers of the kind having thereon a column of printingcharacters, the type carriers in each set being adjustable to present arow of selected characters to a printing position, there being at leastthree such rows of printing characters, and means for printing in closeassociation lines of indicia corresponding to the rows of characters,said means including means for suc-y cessively performing at least twoimpressions with the area to carry the indicia, one of the impressionsimprinting with rows for non-adjacent lines of indicia, and another ofthe impressions imprinting with a row for an intervening line ofindicia, whereby the lines are condensed from the spacing of the rows,means for feeding ticket stock, the rows of printing charactersextending transversely of the direction of feed, rows for printingsuccessive lines of indicia being offset transversely of the directionof feed, the apparatus including means for causing a relative shift,transversely of the direction of feed, between the ticket stock and therows of printing characters, said last means being intermittentlyoperable between successive impressions and between successive advancesof the ticket stock feeding means.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1 in which the means for causing therelative shift shifts the rows of printing characters, leaving theticket stock stationary.

3. Apparatus according to claim 2, including inking means located onboth sides of the path of feed, each inking means being adapted to ink arow of printing characters laterally displaced from the impressionreceiving area while another row of printing characters is making animpression on said area.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,028,294 1/1936 Ryan lOl-2882,050,022 8/ 1936 Shipley lOl-96 2,080,649 5/1937 Breitling 101--962,238,517 4/1941 Colley et al, 101-66 2,305,000 12/1942 Goodbar 197-1272,438,118 3/1948 Flood et al lOl-288 2,444,564 7/ 1948 Goodbar et al101-68 3,331,315 7/1967 Henry 101--68 WILLIAM B. PENN, Primary Examiner.

U.S. Cl. X.R.

lOl-90, 288; 197-127

